Thursday, April 24, 2014

Thursday Thoughts || Classics

Are you ready for another Thursday Thoughts?! I sure hope so, because here it comes! This is an interactive, original, weekly feature here on my blog. Everyone who has an opinion is invited to make their own post, link up and join the conversation! This week's topic of conversation? Classics! Love 'em? Hate 'em? I'm so excited to hear all the different opinions. Being that I'm only nineteen, classics are something I've been forced to read quite a bit of in the last six years. However, not all the classics I've read were "forced" on me! Let's jump right into things so I can explain more about my opinions on the wonderful world of classics.

In high school, I'm pretty sure every person has felt that dread of having to read a book they really didn't care to read or didn't find enjoyable. As far as I know, 90% (if not more) of the books teachers make students read in high school are classics. Being that I graduated in 2012, I'm not unfamiliar with the irritation and slumpiness (for lack of a better word) that comes with required reading. However, in high school I didn't necessarily hate all the books we were made to read. In fact, I enjoyed quite a few of them.

If you've been with us for some of the earlier Thursday Thoughts topics, you might know that I haven't always been an avid reader. In early high school particularly, I found myself hating every book they threw out at us. However, something I realized in my senior year, is that I probably wouldn't hate these books if I were reading them on my own terms. There's something about being told "You have to read this" that just makes us not want to read it! It's almost the same mentality of telling a young child not to do something. That only makes them want to do it more!

In this post, I'm really only going to talk about high school because to be quite honest I don't think I've read a classic since I graduated. And, that's not because they don't interest me.. I just haven't. However, it's only been two years so cut me some slack. Now, in high school, I remember particularly loving to read plays. Some plays I remember reading and loving were The Death of a Salesman and The Importance of Being Ernest. Those are classics, right? But, the plays I really loved reading were from my homie, my dude, the totally rad; William Shakespeare. Being that I've done theater my entire life, loving Shakespeare was something that sort of came naturally to me. And, boy, did I ever? I think between 8th grade and graduation, I read at least five of Shakespeare's works (not including poetry) and I remember LOVING every single one. The man is a genius I tell you.

Another author I really, really loved reading works by was Edgar Allen Poe. If I could have dinner with two classical authors of my choosing, it would be those two by a landslide. Why am I pointing this out to you? Because I really think that's the secret! Let me explain; if you are someone who shies away from Classics all you really need to do is find the ones that cater to topics you enjoy reading about! That's really the secret. I think that's another reason why so many high school students dislike required reading. In high school, you're made to read a variety of books catering to many different topics. Fortunately, I learned something from going through that which I hope other people will realize as well!

To finish off this post, I'm going to highlight some classics that I loved reading in high school and some classics I really despise, but before we get to that, let me wrap things up real quick. The moral of my story is that, yes, I do enjoy reading classics. Have I always loved reading classics? No. Do I like reading every classic? Definitely not. But, that's like telling someone to try and read every YA book and enjoy it! I think what I'm trying to say is that "Classics" is not and should not be considered a genre of book as I think even I thought it to be when I was a bit younger. Classics can be all different genres and that's what makes everyone think differently about them! So, if you're someone who doesn't like classics, find one that suits your tastes and try it out. I don't think you'll regret it.

4 comments:

Great post! Most of the classics that I have read was back when I was in school, and that was mainly because I had to. But, I did enjoy quite a few of them - like Lord of the Flies and a ton of Shakespeare.

But without school forcing me, I am now twenty-two and don't really read many of them. I have a few that I want to read, and I recently read The Great Gatsby as an adult and loved it. But, I don't read many classics, but I don't feel a pressure too either. I just don't have very many that really interest me. I read what I want to read when I want to read it now, I try not to feel pressure to read something that I don't really like the sound of, just because it is classed as a classic.

Classics were a pain for me in high school. I hated being told what to read. Since graduating, I've picked up several and enjoyed them much more on my own. I'm able to read what I want (which is a huge perk) and I'm able to take my time on them. Both of those really helped my enjoyment. Like you, I'm not going to read every single classic out there but they aren't as scary as I used to think.

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My name's Ashley. I'm a twenty year old girl from good ol' Ohio who can't resist a good book. Reading has become a big part of my life, so I created this blog to share any and all of my bookish thoughts with you! Join me in my reading journey and get a glimpse of my adventures along the way. Ok? Let's read.